Sukh Ram gets 3-yr
RINew Delhi, July 5
Former Union Communication Minister and President of the Himachal Vikas
Congress Sukh Ram, was today convicted and sentenced to three years’
rigorous imprisonment by a Delhi court in the Rs 1.68 crore telecom
equipment scam. Slapping a fine of Rs 2 lakh, the Special Judge, Mr V.K.
Jain, allowed the accused time until August 5 to file an appeal. In video (28k,
56k)Quits as House panel chiefEditorial: Sukh
Ram’s conviction

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Is the dumping of the top intelligence officers probing the Ravi Sidhu case justified?

Former Telecom Minister and Himachal Vikas
Party chief Sukh Ram and (right) former Deputy Director in the Department of
Telecom Runu Ghosh come out of the Patiala House court complex after their
conviction in the telecom scam case in New Delhi on Monday.
— PTI photo

Mixed
reaction in HimachalGhumarwin rally as scheduledShimla, July 5Conviction of Mr Sukh Ram in a case of
corruption has come as an embarrassment for the BJP which wrested power in
Himachal with the support of his HVC and a setback to the Congress leaders try
hard to get his expulsion from the party revoked before the coming Assembly
elections.

ISI escort for
Al-Qaida menNew Delhi, July 5Despite repeated attempts by Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf to convince the world of Islamabad distancing itself from the
Al-Qaida and not providing any logistical or financial support to it, strong evidence is available to the contrary.

Ultras kill Awami Mahaz
leaderSrinagar, July 5Unidentified gunmen shot dead a leader of the Awami Mahaz (Peoples Front) and injured two others, including its chairman, in their office here his afternoon.
The police here said that militants fired upon Mr Ghulam Nabi Dar, Chairman of the Awami
Mahaz, injuring him at the Chota Bazar office of the party here at about 12.30 p.m. today.

Why Soniaji alone, the Captain should have taken pointers from Atalji also!

by
Sandeep Joshi

Ultras turn jugglers
to fulfil “mission”Jammu, July 5The place: a police station in the city. A youth in handcuffs amuses a group of newsmen with magic tricks.
From a distance a newsman is asked to write anything on a piece of paper. He writes “786”. Another “scribbles” “Azhar Masood”.

2-yr
jail term for dishonour of chequesNew Delhi, July 5
The one year imprisonment for issuing cheques which bounce has now been
increased to two years. This decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting here
today.

BJP
accuses Amarinder of selective moralityNew Delhi, July 5
The Bharatiya Janata Party today took strong exception to recent
transfers of certain key officials involved in investigations of cases
of corruption in Punjab saying that state Chief Minister Amarinder
Singh should realise that fight against corruption “cannot be
carried on the basis of selective morality”.

Patiala
Judge to conduct inquiryRuchika’s brother ‘falsely
implicated’ in six casesChandigarh, July 5Months after a Judge of the Punjab
and Haryana High Court asked the state of Haryana and other respondents
to show cause why they should not be burdened with compensation for
being paid to Ruchika’s brother — Ashu Girhothra — “falsely
implicated” in six cases, a Division Bench of the High Court today
asked Patiala’s District Judge “to conduct an inquiry and submit his
report to the Court expeditiously but not later than six months from the
date of receiving the record”.